


Domesticity Drabbles

by ReadWithDetermination



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Multi, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romantic Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Underfell Sans (Undertale), Undertale Monsters on the Surface, naps, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:54:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26168212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReadWithDetermination/pseuds/ReadWithDetermination
Summary: A series of fluffy slice-of-life oneshots featuring various characters from the Undertale Multiverse.
Relationships: Papyrus/Reader, Sans/Reader
Comments: 15
Kudos: 62





	1. "Nap Connoisseurs" - (UT Sans x Reader)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans and a human bond over love of naps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Started because of an RP that started with action and drama and devolved into a lot of slice-of-life wholesomeness recently  
> (yeah, we're apparently domestic af)
> 
> First up...for M!

Papyrus thought the world of his newest housemate. Truly, he did! Coming to the Surface had brought about many new adventures, and having you along for the ride was one of them. You were living proof that most humans were, in fact, decent folk and could be very kind if given the chance.

To be honest, perhaps you were too kind at times. Too giving. Too self-sacrificing. You reminded him of a certain skeleton monster he knew.

No, not himself! Certainly, the Great and Magnificent Papyrus had a heart made of solid gold - or he would, if skeletons had hearts. But he was capable of setting certain boundaries while some people were not.

In this case, the skeleton in question was his own brother, Sans.

True, Sans could be quite the lazybones when he wanted to be and had an innate ability to nap anywhere you stuck him, but Papyrus knew that some of that laziness came from the fact that his brother worked a multitude of jobs to help provide for them both. Underground, he had been a sentry and ran several hot dog stands, though Papyrus expected he also might have had some other business in New Home. Even though Sans hadn't been employed in the science sector in years, having never completed his formal training past an internship due to... _reasons_...it was something he occasionally found odd maintenance jobs in, and projects were not exactly in short supply.

Like that machine they used to have in their basement back in Snowdin, for instance.

Now, even on the Surface, Sans still took on more than he probably should have. Even though Papyrus had a new job and monster gold had been worth significantly more on the Surface than below ground, there were still bills to pay, and both of the brothers had recently enrolled in school - Papyrus for coaching, Sans to finally finish that Ph.D.

If anything, with Sans' low HP, his taking on too much was in all likelihood overworking him. While Papyrus did lecture his brother now and then for his laziness in the past (after all, if was quite rude to sleep at one's sentry station and potentially miss properly greeting a human when they dropped by!), he was a bit more lenient nowadays, especially when Sans actually cleaned up a bit more after himself.

Though, honestly, he expected that was partly because of _you_.

You were kind and sweet, generous to a fault, and perhaps - like Papyrus had mentioned - far too selfless for your own good. When you first moved in after your former roommate had decided to move, you had taken it upon yourself to start cleaning up after the two of them. Of course, Papyrus left little in the way of messes for you to clean (especially after you showed him how to make spaghetti that didn't involve setting at least one pot on fire), but Sans was a different story. The shorter skeleton had been fine to let you do as you pleased at first, not at all displeased to have a few less chores on his list, but eventually, even he had noticed you had a tendency to take care of the two of them even though you were essentially running on fumes yourself.

Not only were you working full-time, but you tutored others online in lessons of your mother tongue and were taking a few evening courses at the same university as Sans (where you had first met). And while you could run circles around most people nearly as well as Papyrus, you spent your energy like it was some sort of currency.

That's why, whenever you sat still for too long of the evening, you were out of it almost the moment your butt hit the sofa cushions. 

Usually, you just took quick power naps - little 20-30 minutes of respite to recharge a bit of your energy for the evening. Other times, you were dead to the world the moment your eyes closed, and Papyrus would find you the next morning stirring from the mass of paperwork you had spread about on the kitchen table.

Most often, however, wherever he found Sans, he would find you.

The first time it happened you had just finished cleaning up after work and wanted to just have a mental break for a few minutes before you had to help with supper. You sat down on the lumpy old couch with Sans to see what television show he was watching, but before long, your head decided that his bony shoulder made for an excellent pillow. Sans had texted Papyrus to come (quietly) into the living room, where he grinned widely before gesturing to your sleeping form and whispering.

"bro! hey, bro, look at this."

Yes, you were out like a light, mouth slightly parted, breathing softly and steadily as your hair shielded your face in a long curtain. Sans looked far too pleased with himself, especially now that there were two Nap Connoisseurs in the house. 

You had apologized profusely when you woke up, especially when you realized to your horror that you had _drooled_ on him. He made quips about you being part dog monster, and you had squeaked before burying your face in your hands and going to hide in your room. Sans coaxed you out not long after, reminding you that you usually helped with supper. When you threw open the door and burst into apologies, he had cut you off with a grin and a plate full of (edible) pasta.

Squeaking out more embarrassed apologies, you took the plate, promising it wouldn't happen again.

Sans told you he didn't care and said you were free to come be his nap buddy any time you wanted.

Apparently, you had sequestered yourself in your room after that and wouldn't look in Sans' direction for three days without wheezing and burying your face in your hands and releasing boiling tea kettle noises. Papyrus didn't get it but he tried to help you work through your anxiety by assuring you one sleepy mistake did not break a friendship.

Then Sans would walk in just as Papyrus finally had you calmed down and start making puns.

Face? Meet Palm, to whom you are presently engaged.

After that, Papyrus had a talk with Sans and they both came to realize just how much you were wearing yourself out. After all, while the Great Papyrus didn't need sleep very often, humans required a decent amount of rest in order to function properly. They relied on complex bodily processes to heal their daily weariness rather than magic, and rest spurred that healthy growth.

The second time you took a nap was Sans' fault.

As a (sorta) apology for trying to make your brain combust from teasing you, the moment you walked into the living room with a full basket of their dirty laundry, Sans said "nuh-uh" and used gravity magic to tug the basket out of your hands and send it sliding across the floor. Each time you went to grab it, the basket would glide across the floor and out of your reach. After several times of this, you turned on Sans and told him to stop, that you were too tired to chase down the laundry.

"so don't," he had told you. 

Your hands went to your hips and you began to lecture him on how you needed to get their laundry going. 

"no, you don't," he said, grinning lazily.

Placing your hands before your mouth and taking a deep calming breath, you told Sans that you had other things to do, and you needed to get the laundry done first. 

Sans, once again, replied with a playful, "nah, you're good."

At that point, you went to protest, but Sans immediately broke down your argument, causing Sans to wink at you.

"tell you what," he offered, "i'll give you the laundry basket if you sit down and rest for half an hour."

"Five minutes," you countered. Sans had merely chuckled and shook his head, a quick swipe of his finger sending the laundry basket skidding over the carpet.

"twenty-five."

You had lunged. The basket, once again, slipped from your grasp.

"Ten minutes!"

This time, Sans yanked the basket to himself and popped out of sight for a moment before returning... _sans_ laundry basket. You let out a frustrated groan and grumble what might have been anything from a prayer for strength to wondering why you put up with such nonsense before shooting him a glare. Sans just grinned.

"twenty minutes," was his final offer, "and you have to sit here with me so i know you're actually taking a break." 

You told him you did not understand why he was so adamant about you taking a break. Could he not just let you do the cleaning in peace? If he wanted to tease you, then please, could he do that while you were getting things done?

Apparently not. "nah, kid," he said, "you work too hard as it is, then come in and take care of us on top of all that. you keep going _full throttle_ the way you have been and, pretty soon, you're going to have a _burn out_." 

The puns took a couple of seconds to sink in, but as tired and frustrated as you were, you couldn't help the little twinge of a smile as your lips quirked upward. Seeing his opening, Sans tossed a few more puns at you, each in increasing corniness until you snorted and burst into giggles. Satisfied, he patted the sofa cushion next to himself and invited you to sit down, which you ultimately did.

In the end, it hadn't taken the full twenty minutes for you to doze off against him, and Sans, aware you had no further pressing matters in your schedule that evening, decided you should take the rest of the night off. He saw to it the alarm on your phone "conveniently" deleted itself.

That is where Papyrus found the two of you an hour later: your head on Sans' shoulder, his head against yours, and both of you dead to the world.

Slowly, it became a thing for the two of you.

You stopped worrying that Sans was going to tease you for your accidental sleep snuggles, and he actively encouraged what he called "power napping". So, at least a couple times a week, the two of you began to have your short bouts of slumber. 

Occasionally, at least at first, Papyrus would join you both in watching television for a short time. Soon, however, he began to notice little behaviors that he felt required him to make himself scarce:

How one of both of your faces would be flushed after he walked back into the room.

The way you two started to gravitate toward one another earlier and earlier as preludes to your naps.

The soft way his brother spoke to you as you cuddled up next to him, occasionally running his fingers through your hair when he was sure you were asleep (He always kept his face straight ahead on television when he did this, and though Papyrus raised a bone brow at this, he never called his brother out on it).

One day, as he came home from a long work day, he finally found the two of you completely stretched out on the sofa, Sans arm thrown around your stomach and pulling you in close so your combined forms remained on the sofa. Papyrus glanced at the clock before leaving the room momentarily, returning with a blanket to cover you both. As he covered you both up, he noticed Sans' face scrunch in his sleep as he buried his face into your shoulder, finally returning to a peaceful, content expression.

Papyrus shook his head.

If the two of you were going to continue your little napping charade, then they were most definitely going to need a bigger couch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More cute stuff to come!
> 
> TUMBLR: https://readwithdetermination.tumblr.com/  
> YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaQd1Pjqd6plN9Z8EjmvVvg


	2. "Cat Got Your Tongue?" - (UF Sans x Reader)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Red bonds with a human over their mutual dislike of cicadas and wrestles with feelings he's not used to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: Insects, Anxiety/Low Self-Esteem, Bugs Flying into Places They Shouldn't Go, Hungry Cat Wants Noms
> 
> I had to up the rating because of Red's potty mouth XD
> 
> Also, this chapter is for LoveCakeBacon, who requested a oneshot with UF!Sans. Sorry it took me so long!

It all began with a simple sound.

Of course, anyone who has lived out in the country knows what that telltale _whee whee whrrr_ noise is. At the beginning of summer, it's often quite gentle, as only a few of those distant cries make up the chorus of woodland sounds.

But by the time summer is in full swing? That gentle aria can become a deafening cacophony.

And one very frustrated skeleton had had about as much as he could take of the battle cries of the most foul creature he had come to encounter on the Surface: The Cicada.

It was bad enough they seemed to love his vehicle's windshield. The blasted things would swarm in a thick cloud as traffic slowed, slamming into his windshield with a fervor he had only seen from the rare hailstorm. It was worse when he actually picked up some speed, for the mess they left in their wake upon meeting an untimely end meant he inevitably had to stop by the gas station every evening to dispose of the evidence. 

It wasn't just his vehicle they loved. No, for some reason, the bug-eyed beacons of frustration seemed attracted to the color red, and he, unfortunately, seemed to be just their type.

He swore, if he had to dodge one more of those little pests, he was going to have Shish-Ka-Beetle for lunch.

Except not really, because that was gross and even during his roughest days Underground, he had never been so bad off that he would have been tempted to eat something that looked like a six-legged miniature eldritch beast. 

Then again, there were a lot of things he wouldn't have considered while Underground.

Being friends with a bunch of Humans, for instance.

Sure, there was Frisk, but Frisk was a sweetheart, and a child at that. What he didn't expect was for other humans - _adult_ humans - to want to have much to do with him. Heck, most monsters didn't even want to have much to do with him, besides his brother, anyway.

Red's thoughts evaporated as he heard his phone go off with an all-too-familiar ringtone. Well, speak of the Devil, amiright?

He fished his phone out of his coat pocket and saw the message:

'INCOMING!'

With a chuckle, he shoved himself up from the sofa and plodded over to the door in time to hear a wild shriek draw closer and footsteps racing up onto the porch. He opened the door as you yanked back the screen door, still shrieking and swatting at the air around your head. Instantly, magic enveloped several of the flying menaces before a flick of Red's fingerbones sent them sailing off back toward the yard as you darted past, your scream ringing in his nonexistent ears as he watched you run over and tackled the couch.

As the screen door slammed to, the undeterred cicadas zoomed back, slamming into and bouncing off the tough mesh with reckless abandon.

Red barked out a triumphant laugh. "better luck next time, fuckers!" he shouted before shutting the door in the face of the attempted invaders. A large fluffy cat ran up and rubbed against his legs, trilling loudly as she was denied her chance to investigate the chaos. Red looked down at the purring feline and grinned. "only room around here for one loud pest, and that's your owner. ain't that right, ya' little mooch?"

Doomfanger merely meowed and hopped up, rubbing her arched fluffy back against his leg. Red just shook his head and casually stepped around the cat, leaving her to sniff at the bottom of the door and the shoes Red kicked off nearby.

"you okay over there? you're looking like you ran a mile with my brother and undyne chasing ya'."

You let out a disgusted noise and gagged, shaking dramatically before you moved over to allow Red a place to sit down. You were even less of a fan of cicadas than he was, though that distaste extended to most things insectoid. Oddly enough, you were fine with most monsters that resembled creepy crawly things, but you had told Red that was because you didn't have to worry about waking up and finding one of them in your bed.

You hadn't been too pleased at his hollering at Muffet and asking her if she wanted to make five G. He flashed you a toothy grin remembering how you smacked his shoulder over that one.

Instead of taking a seat right away, he swaggered up to the couch, deciding he would mess with you a bit. You looked up at him and asked him what was with the look he was giving you, which only made him grin wider. This, in turn, made you regard him with great skepticism, because this was far from the first time he had pulled something on you. You learned fast, after all, as fast as most monsters in the Underground. Fortunately, you weren't exactly LV fodder to everyone the moment you walked out the door. 

All you had to do was deal with pranks, dark humor, and Red's flirting. 

As he regarded you, Red could already tell you were mulling it around inside your head, wondering where the roulette wheel would land today. Not having any props with him and without any particularly good puns coming to mind, he fell back to his third favorite way to mess with you.

Cocking his head back, he looked down at you. "what, no reward for the hero?"

You raised an eyebrow and asked 'what hero?' Already bracing himself for the swats it would get him, Red leaned down and looked you in the eyes. "and here i thought playing your knight in shining armor would at least get me a little 'sugar'."

With a snort, you reached over and playfully tugged at his coat sleeve, commenting on his lack of anything resembling armor. 

"why, this is armor!" Red proclaimed, "magic armor. you know, like those chainmail bikinis human women wear in like every video game ever."

His sarcasm earned him an eyeroll and a hand wave.

"fine, be ungrateful," he said, grin never leaving his face as he flopped down next to you. Red noticed your eyes still roving over him as he reached for the remote. "heh, hope you got a library card if you plan on checking me out."

He mentally checked off a win for him at your frustrated groan. It was just too easy to mess with you, but you liked it. This sort of thing was just how you two rolled. Most people he threw his lines at did not conjure the most welcome reception, and while Edge (his Papyrus) could throw back a joke or pun, it was much more fun to annoy him with them instead. Easy, too. But with you, the banter was easy, but in a different way. You could trade jokes with him all day, but when it came to the other stuff? It was so fun to rile you up with puns, pick-up lines and innuendos, all leading up to a playful smack to the arm or a loud "Get out!"

(Seriously, he had a mental checklist. At this point, it was 43 Shoulder Swats and 147 Get Outs. And that was just this week alone.)

Striking up a friendship with you was on his (admittedly short) list of good decisions.

He'd been slow to warm up to you and, while you were civil enough, it was roughly the same way with you. It took a few mutual complaint sessions before he found out the two of you actually got along fairly well together, and once you fell into that easy pace, neither of you ever climbed back out.

And that suited you both just fine.

So you two started having these little post-work vent sessions a couple of times a week. Not that ranting about stupid customers and annoying coworkers was all you did, mind you. Sometimes, it was just chilling on the couch and watching TV or playing competitive video games, binging on pizza and taunting each other over what some character was going to do or who was going to win a digital go kart race. Other times, it was just sitting and shooting the breeze about whatever came to mind until Paps - Edge came home, signaling it was almost time for you to head home (usually after Edge stuffed you full of lasagna or whatever else he was cooking if you hadn't already eaten).

Still, he did want to know why you were looking over him so weirdly. So he asked.

...

...

...

-Ah, his coat? That was it?

Yeah, he supposed it was a little weird when it was so blasted hot outside, but the temperature never bothered him and his brother much, no matter which way the mercury swung. That's what he told you, anyway.

The truth was that he just...felt better with the coat on. Particularly so, around YOU. He'd never admit it, but it was comforting, having the physical barrier between the two of you, no matter how hot it got. Sure, he didn't have his SOUL on display, and maybe you couldn't read all of his tells yet, but he didn't want to take the chance on you reading into him more than he wanted you to yet.

You were perceptive, after all, and pretty persistent when it came to getting an answer. 

Now and then, the thought did occur to him if the line would ever cross into something else, but he usually beat that idea back down with a stick. You had a nice thing going and, yeah, while he _liked_ ya', he wasn't exactly ready to pick out curtains or anything. And you were pretty chill with your hangout sessions and hadn't exactly taken the bait to any of his lines. Sure, on the rare occasion, you would pop back with a flirty one-liner of your own that would catch him off guard and send his bone brows almost into orbit, but he would usually catch himself and wind up either chuckling over you embarrassing yourself or throwing back lines until you were a spluttering mess. 

It was just too easy with you.

That was fine. 

Logically, it was probably his loneliness getting the better of him. He was only learning now that most humans weren't going to stab in him the back (or front), and actually interacting with a population that wasn't trying to carve up his low HP for free EXP was still very new to him, and nobody undoes a lifetime of conditioning to the Underground overnight. Having allies was common down there, and sure, there were a few he had he could trust with his life, but beyond that...?

Best not overthink things. Or try not to. That's what the therapist suggested, right? Let things play out and see where they go? No needing to stress over nothing.

No need to have hoped the look had any heat behind it.

'at least it wasn't disgust,' he thought with relief, then rolled his shoulders and fell back into his smug facade.

About that time, Doomfanger came over and started pawing at his leg, meowing plaintively. Red frowned and gently nudged her to turn loose. "hey, cut that out! i ain't'cha owner. go on. you aren't getting in my lap."

This displeased Doomfanger greatly, who proceeded to continue her snaking around his legs, bumping up against them and batting at the hem of his shorts. 

"what's got into you, you crazy fuzzball? i said 'no'! now shoo!"

He hammered his point home by picking Doomfanger up with his magic and depositing the whining ball of fluff into the plastic tub that held the ungodly amount of cat toys Edge had gotten her. Doomfanger turned around and immediately hopped out of the crate, running right back over to Red to start again. This time, Red made sure she wound up on the second floor landing so it would take her a while to come back down.

You commented that Doomfanger seemed awfully insistent on cuddles today.

"yeah, well," he said, slapping his thigh, "this lap ain't no seat for pussycats." He fixed you with another looked and let out a chuckle. "but I could make an exception if we dropped the—"

He watched with amusement as your eyes grew wide at the impending pick-up line.

And then was promptly confused because your face looked a lot more horrified than exasperated.

You were also tensing up and slowly leaning back.

"what's the matter, sweetcheeks? cat got your—"

His name fell from your lips in a panicked whisper. He quirked a bone brow at you, only to see a trembling finger gesture toward the fluff of his jacket hood as you told him to look down. Confused, he reached over and grabbed his hood to pull it over, with you letting out a squeak and telling him not to do that and—

Oh.

Oh, HELL _no_!

Apparently, during your mad dash inside, one of the cicadas must have gotten inside when he turned around to watch you run past. Though, with a view like that? Who could blame him?

The universe, apparently, because his not-so-furtive glances at certain parts of one of his few friends was now being punished through the judging multifaceted eyes of a nearly four-inch-long orange and yellow _bug_.

Red had only enough time to register that thought before the beast, having been disturbed from its fluffy resting place, sprang into action. Letting out a noise he would never admit to making until his dying day, he fell back as the cicada flew up directly into his face. He flailed back, shaking his head and hoping to dislodge it, but was horrified to feel itchy insectoid legs grasping at his eye socket.

Normally, he would have just grabbed it and thrown it away, but something about having the recesses of his skull peered into made him forget hands are a concept. Instead, his eyelight shrank back into his skull, allowing him to see the darkened recesses of his skull's interior outlining his eye socket, which now framed a cicada that was staring his eyelight down like it was about to come on it and make itself at home.

To be honest, Red could really have done without knowing what the acoustics of his skull sounded like with that cicada's call vibrating halfway into it.

He screamed.

You screamed.

The cicada went _whee whee whrrr_.

Then, suddenly, the bug was yanked away, allowing his eyelight to return to its normal position. With a wild cry, you flung the hapless bug across the room, shaking your hand from your bad case of heebie jeebies. Red watched in shock as the bug landed at the bottom of the stairs half a room away behind you. When it started to take off again, you shrieked and leapt into his lap, trying to get as far away from the six-legged terror as possible.

He only grabbed onto you out of—

Oh.

Well, damn. If he said out of 'fear' he'd be laughed at, but if he said otherwise—

Wait, there was a cicada about to start flying around _his house_ , he needed to get his priorities straight!

...You did feel kind of nice in his arms, though.

The cicada righted itself and turned around as your arms wrapped around his shoulders, clinging for dear life. It looked at you both, obviously not having liked its unorthodox flight, and prepared for take off.

Into the air it rose...

...only to disappear under the weight of one very fluffy, very _hungry_ cat.

Red could only watch as his brother's very pampered pet, this creature that Edge usually went through the painstaking process to make fresh homemade cat food for, fell upon the cicada like it had insulted her mother, grandmother, and third cousin's great aunt. Doomfanger made short work of the buzzing beast, happily munching down her crunchy snack like it was a fine delicacy.

Shakily, you mentioned you supposed that was why she wanted Red to pick her up.

"yeah, I guess so," he admitted, making a mental note to find where Edge stowed the dried catnip and just give her _all_ of it. 

That was when he realized there was another pressing matter at hand.

And by that, he meant your whole weight pressing down on his lap.

He swallowed heavily and let out a chuckle, and he couldn't help but give the body in his arms a little squeeze.

"i know i asked for a reward for helping you get away from the cicada army, but i didn't expect ya' to just jump me."

Red expected the groan and the eyeroll.

He didn't expect you to stay in his lap for a little while longer. 

Red knew you were watching to make sure the cicada wasn't coming back any time soon, but he couldn't help but hope that, maybe, this could be a new part to you guys' weekly routine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got some more funnies headed this way!
> 
> TUMBLR: https://readwithdetermination.tumblr.com/  
> YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaQd1Pjqd6plN9Z8EjmvVvg


	3. "The Trouble with Treehouses - Part 1/2" (SFR Papyrus &/x Reader)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rus is awoken from his new favorite napping spot by an unexpected visitor, who provides him with an idea to get his brother off his back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Made for R.
> 
> I had begun this one months ago but lost the original. A happy little accident, because this one flowed so much better.   
> Also, I wasn't sure whether to make this platonic or pre-romance because it felt like it could go either way, so use your imagination to decide!

You would think a guy who spent the past few years being called "mutt" by his brother would be more grounded. Like, literally grounded, as in at least one foot on the ground at all times.

Not Rus.

No, one would think he was less skeleton monster and more of a squirrel from the way he tended to cling to high places. His brother often joked, "YOU ARE ALREADY TALL ENOUGH TO BE ASKED HOW THE WEATHER IS UP THERE NEARLY EVERY TIME WE GO INTO TOWN, SO WHY MUST YOU MAKE A HABIT OF GOING ONTO THE ROOF TO CHECK?"

However, Blackberry understood why. From a military standpoint, those that held the high ground were less likely to be taken down on a battlefield, so long as they either moved fast or had something to take refuge behind as necessary. It was also safer in high places - something Blackberry himself had taught Rus early on when they were both orphaned children living in their own. If you couldn't cram into a spot where no one else could find you to sleep, then go up high. Rus had spent many a night in his younger days tucked beneath a grimy blanket on some apartment building roof, dozing as peacefully as a child that doesn't quite understand the dangers that could come upon those weak and vulnerable in their sleep.

As he got older and took up a position as sentry (and as his brother's "guard dog"), high places like roofs and trees became prime vantage points for scouting and spying. This, combined with his keen sense of smell and magic detection (among other abilities), made him a fearsome terror both on high and on the ground.

Now, however, up on the much safer Surface in a stable environment, Rus' desire to cling to high places was solely because he enjoyed them.

It also made it more difficult for his shorter brother to find him when he snuck away for a nap.

They hadn't been moved into their new house for more than a day before Rus decided he was going to systematically sleep in every tree that could hold his weight around the property. Starting with one large, sturdy tree at the edge of their backyard.

The trunk of the tall oak tree was wider than his arms could wrap around, and left plenty of space in the apex of its taller branches for him to settle down in. It quickly became his favorite snoozing spot.

What Rus didn't expect was for someone to join him.

It had been a nice warm summer night the night before - or well, warm to a skeleton who had lived in Snowdin for the past few years - so Rus had just left his house and decided to climb up into his tree to sleep. Logically, he knew those old memories of sleeping on apartment building roofs must have been nerve-wracking for his watchful older brother, but they brought back good memories for Rus, when he felt safe, snug, and warm. He spent around an hour gazing up at the stars before sleep overtook him.

The next morning, he was awoken by scrabbling on the lower branches. At first, he assumed it was his brother, but then quickly remembered his brother was adept at climbing trees and wouldn't have made such noise.

That, and his brother certain didn't have the same pitch as the person who was humming.

Rus sat up just in time to see a pair of arms and head emerge as a human pulled themselves up into the tree. Almost instantly, they locked eyes, and they stared in wide-eyed shock at the monster looking back at them.

Feeling cheeky, Rus just stared back at the trespasser and said, "boo."

He actually wasn't intending to scare them, but it made them flinch and lose their hold, and they scrabbled to hang on. Knowing how high up they were, Rus lunged forward, grabbing them by the straps of their backpack and hauling them up into the tree with him.

"if you wanted to learn how to speak ghost that badly, i got a monster friend you can talk to. no need to go turning yourself into one."

The human looked beyond perplexed, as if not expecting him to make a joke. "I, uh, thanks...uh, dude, you're really strong."

Rus let go of them so they could shuffle into the fork of two branches. "a little. comes with living in the underground."

Suddenly, their eyes widened farther and their whole countenance brightened. "You're a monster!"

Rus smirked slightly at the awed tone of their voice. "last time i looked in the mirror. unless you know of any humans that like to run around without their skin?"

The human started laughing. "No, usually when that happens, we don't keep talking like you're doing now."

"heh, then i guess i'm still a skeleton monster," he said, settling back against a larger branch. "that's good. becoming a whole new person sounds tiring. i'd rather just take a nap in my tree."

The human's face fell. "Your tree? Oh, I'm sorry! The house next door was vacant last year when I visited, and since this tree fell so close to the property line, I thought it belonged on the side my friends rented from. I'm really sorry. I'll go!"

Rus, seeing that they were obviously not a threat, stopped them. "nah, you can stay. there's plenty of tree for both of us."

"You really don't mind?"

"nah," he said. "name's papyrus, but friends just call me 'rus."

The human introduced themself and he nodded.

"So what brings you up here?"

"It's nice out, so I wanted to draw," the human said, shucking their backpack and unzipping it to reveal a sketchbook and some loose graphite pencils. "I like climbing trees to sketch because nobody can bother me up here. Well, except for the squirrels. And then there was that really angry blue jay...Oh, but also, I just like being high up!"

A quick once-over told Rus this person would probably have trouble leaving the shallow end of a swimming pool without water wings. In fact, they might even be shorter than his brother. Black would love that. It wasn't every day he got to tower over somebody without standing on a stepladder. Rus chuckled to himself, scooting back to allow the human more room into the tree.

"What about you, Rus?" they asked.

"was stargazing last night and fell asleep," he answered honestly. "we didn't have a lot of that underground."

"Yeah, I assume they wouldn't have a lot of trees in a subterranean area."

"actually, we did have trees, just not all of the different kinds you guys have up here."

"Really?"

Rus nodded. The human smiled.

"Man, I bet it was really cool to stargaze from a tree. I've never done that before," they looked over at Rus, "but if I did that, I'd probably wake up all in knots. You okay from sleeping out here like that? Not all kinked up, are you?"

Rus shook his head, "nah, i'm good. slept in plenty of trees in my life, as well as other places. i can sleep just about anywhere." 

"Man, I'd love that ability!"

And that was how Rus' friendship with his neighbor began.

As they explained, they had visited their friends during the summers a few years ago, doing the same this year to continue the tradition. Over the next couple of weeks, his new human friend would meet him every other day in the tree to draw and chat, with Rus inevitably dozing off most days. 

Since monster gold had turned out to be worth its weight in, well, gold on the Surface, Rus hadn't needed to work. Black, of course, wanted him to find something to do to keep some routine in his life, and Rus' therapist had been on his brother's side (of course). For all his faults, he did care deeply about his brother and wanted him to find a life for himself on the Surface but knew shoving Rus into several jobs and multiple projects would just burn his little brother out. He also knew that Rus was still adjusting as much as he was, so he let him do his own thing - chores notwithstanding. 

Still, he did urge Rus to at least look into doing some side work or project to do to keep his mind sharp.

It came to him in the most ingenious way possible.

"Wouldn't it be nice to live in a tree?"

The human poised the question as they had been discussing a family of crows living in a tree across from the one the duo currently occupied.

"heh, maybe until it started storming."

"True, no one wants to live in a potential lightning rod," they said, tapping their lower lip with a pencil, "but you wouldn't have to worry about falling out of the tree if you rolled over in your sleep!"

"you have a point," Rus admitted. 

"The tree's big enough. You could always build a treehouse around it without having to take out any of the branches," they said. "My cousins had one when they were little."

Rus raised an eyebrow. "Treehouse?"

The human rounded on him, quirking an eyebrow, "Rus, you mean to tell me you don't know what a treehouse is?" 

He shook his head.

"But you guys had trees!"

"well, yeah, in snowdin, we did," he said, "but any trees that weren't evergreens never kept leaves long during the year. a tree's good to hide in now and then but none of those were sturdy enough to support a whole house."

The human blinked at him a few minutes before realization dawned and they started laughing. "A treehouse isn't a whole house! I mean, I'm sure some people somewhere might have them, but not like the one you live in," they told him, then they pulled out their phone and typed something into a web browser app before passing him the phone. "I meant like these!"

"heh, what are these, watchtowers for kids? they're not very high off they ground or have much protection," he said as they settled down next to him.

"That's because they're just made for fun," they said. "I kinda forget you guys grew up in a pretty rough place. Guess you didn't get to play much as a kid, huh?"

Rus just shrugged. "meh, depends on what you mean by 'fun'. my brother found me some toy soldiers to play with when I was a kid. i still have some of them."

"But nothing like this?"

"nope."

Rus scrolled through some of the images as they continued to talk and slowly began to get an idea.

"we could build one."

"Wait, what?"

He handed their phone back. "i mean, why not?"

"W-well, mostly, they're for kids," the human stuttered. He could see from the way they looked off that they were a bit nervous, but they weren't very good about hiding the excitement in their voice.

"and you're what, eighty? guess we better get you back to the nursing home before they run out of applesauce," he said, playfully tugging on their arm like he was trying to lead the way. "it's so amazing you managed to climb up here without your walker-"

The human playfully shoved him, making him grin wider. "You're such a butt!"

"i'm a skeleton. i don't have a butt to be a butt."

They rolled their eyes and shook their head at his antics before looking down at the photos he was scrolling through. 

"but seriously, why not? we always wind up in this tree, and you wanted to go stargazing without winding up with a bunch of kinks in your back. so why not?"

The human gave him a look like they really weren't expecting him to run with it. 

"i mean, look at this one," he said, gesturing to one design, "we could just build the walls higher, bring up some sleeping bags, and voila! stargazing spot! can't be that hard to make, right?"

Rus' friend looked down at the images on their phone and smiled.

"c'mon, live a little."

"Says the guy who likes to nap most of the day?"

"i mean, my brother wanted me to find a project to preoccupy myself with."

"Why do I get the feeling a treehouse was the farthest thing from his mind?"

Rus shrugged. "not my fault he didn't specify."

The human chuckled with maniacal glee at the mischievous toothy grin he shot them. They clapped their hands and dramatically rubbed them together like a villain at play.

"Then let's do it!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To Be Continued...
> 
> TUMBLR: https://readwithdetermination.tumblr.com/  
> YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaQd1Pjqd6plN9Z8EjmvVvg


	4. "The Trouble with Treehouses - Part 2/2" (Now with more SFR Sans!)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Rus and his new human friend build their treehouse, Blackberry notices that his brother has been slacking on his chores and self-care.  
> There's only so much an older brother can take before he takes matters into his own hands...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Black pretty much stole the show and nearly the entire chapter wound up from his perspective until almost the very end.  
> This is probably the fluffiest thing I have written in ages because omg brotherly fluff.

Even with a fulltime job, postsecondary school studies, and occasional freelance work to monopolize his time, Blackberry was not wholly unobservant to his brother's doings. One afternoon, he dropped in long enough to see them having unfurled an old roll of Gyftmas paper across the kitchen counter island to draw on the plain white back. He made eye contact with Rus and raised a bone brow.

"GOOD EVENING, BROTHER AND...BROTHER'S HUMAN," he said casually, still looking very stoic save for that one quirked brow. The human waved and Rus grinned before introducing the two. Black nodded his acknowledgement of their guest before looking to his brother. "WHAT'S ALL THIS THEN?"

"We're building a treehouse!" the human piped up.

"A...TREEHOUSE?"

"yeah," Rus confirmed, "on that large oak in the backyard."

Black glanced out the window, surveying the aforementioned tree, then looked back to his brother. "JUST DON'T HURT YOUR FOOL SELVES BECAUSE I HAVE A VERY IMPORTANT EXAM WEDNESDAY, AND I CAN'T AFFORD TO MISS IT TO TRANSPORT YOU TO THE HOSPITAL."

Rus saluted his brother while grinning like an idiot. "will do!" Black simply shook his head, nodded a farewell to the human, and headed back into the living room to collect his books. Out of the corner of his sockets, he watched the two's continued discourse. 

"So, does that mean he's cool with it?" asked the human.

"he didn't say no~!"

The human's grin shortly matched his own and the two turned back to their work. Blackberry merely collected his belongings and headed upstairs.

He had initially been skeptical of Rus' little project, but after researching it and seeing no harm in it, he didn't have a problem with it.

At that point.

That evening when Black got home, he noticed a truck he had seen at the neighbors was parked in his driveway. Curious, he walked into the backyard and noted several large posts sticking out of the ground and extending skyward about twice Rus' height, as well as a wheelbarrow, two empty bags of concrete, and not one but two humans chatting his brother up in the backyard. He also realized that his car now had to share the garage with a huge pile of lumber. Apart from asking how long construction would take, he didn't delve too deeply into his brother's project. However, the passing hand pat on Rus' shoulder after supper that night vouchsafed his unspoken approval.

The next afternoon, Black discovered the lumber gone. Upon exiting his car, he was greeted with the sounds of distant hammering and what sounded like a skill saw. He peered around the side of the house, noticing his brother was hard at work for once since coming to the Surface. The taller skeleton had nails clenched between his teeth as he pounded down planks on what appeared to be a scaffold made from the posts, but it was obvious that Rus was laughing and enjoying himself. Black made brief eye contact with his brother, nodded, then went on about his business.

However, when Black had finished preparing supper and his brother was still not inside, he went outside to call for him. Rus ran over and Black gave him a look which equated to "remember your manners", nodding back to the two humans before Rus understood.

"you guys wanna come eat with us?"

Pleased but not wanting to intrude while covered in sawdust, the two humans bid Rus farewell and then headed home. Black nodded his approval of their manners and headed inside.

However, he _did_ make Rus pop up to his room and change out of his sawdust-covered clothes before he got any supper. 

Later, he noticed that Rus had just left his dirty clothes tossed on top of the hamper where he hadn't bothered to shake them out. Black picked up a pair of sweats, now smelling thickly of pine and cedar, and watched as flecks of sawdust fell all over his nice clean floor. He was extremely annoyed and would have woken Rus up to take care of it, but he was feeling generous. After all, his brother hadn't looked so happy in a while, and he was doing something productive with his time. And at manual labor at that! Who knew? 

With a hope that perhaps this new friend of his was a good influence, Black bagged the sawdusty clothes to take them out back for a shake, planning to just remind his brother the next day that he needed to do his portion of the housework.

The next evening Black didn't arrive until nightfall. When he did, he noticed that a small generator had been brought over to hook up some industrial lights to so his brother and friend could see to work. The structure was slowly beginning to look like a forest outpost, with the walls of a small wooden building having cropped up atop the posts and extending back into the tree itself. Rus and his friend had, true to their word, managed to actually build around the branches. It was quickly becoming quite the sight.

Black's satisfaction at seeing his brother happily hard at work was marred when he noticed the sawdust tracked along the kitchen floor and the dirty dishes from his and Rus' breakfast still sitting in the sink. His frown deepened upon realizing that there weren't any signs of other meals to join it. Black scowled out the window. He walked over to the fridge to see everything as he had left it. The freezer and pantry, too, seemed just as fully stocked as ever.

Did Rus forget to eat? Again? Black really hated when he did that. Years before, Rus had a bad habit of not eating when he worked as a physicist, getting too wrapped up in a project until he became so light-headed from hunger and fatigue that he got sick. He did similar after the incident that made his brother quit and it had taken Black literally fighting with him to eat even some broth, and Black really did not wish to go back to those days.

Still, it was possible that Rus had simply gone over to the human's house for food. However, they likely didn't know about Rus' tendency to hyperfocus, and Black wasn't willing to chance having his brother pass out and slice a phalange or two off mid-saw.

He walked out, trying to keep his gait calm, until he arrived beneath the tree.

"BROTHER!"

He heard scrambling from inside the treehouse as Rus dropped his nails. He poked his head out through the glassless window.

"welcome home, mil- um, bro," he said. Black sighed and rubbed his forehead. He hadn't meant to scare his brother back into rank-and-status mode from their days in the Underground. He let out a stabilizing breath and looked up.

"YOU LEFT THE DISHES IN THE SINK AND SAWDUST ON THE FLOOR. PLEASE CLEAN IT UP," he told his brother. The taller skeleton looked a bit sheepish.

"sorry about that. i'll come do it in a little while."

Black crossed his arms. "WHILE I AM GLAD TO SEE YOU INVESTED IN A PROJECT, IT IS NEARLY NINE O'CLOCK. TIME TO COME INSIDE." He was met by a whine and a shocked exhaltation from the human.

"Holy smokes, is it really that late?" they said. "Man, I was having so much fun I forgot to go have supper. Oh, man, Rus, you've gotta be getting hungry, too!"

Blackberry huffed. That certainly answered his question. He moved his hands to his hips and leveled a disapproving look at his brother.

"YOU CAN CONTINUE WORKIGN ON THIS CONTRAPTION TOMORROW," he called up to Rus. "FOR NOW, YOU NEED TO COME INSIDE AND EAT!" Black glanced over to the human. "YOU ARE ALSO WELCOME TO COME INSIDE, THOUGH WE SHALL BE HAVING LEFTOVERS."

Rus looked over to the human with a noncommittal shrug. "well, you heard my brother."

"Yeah, we're at a good stopping point for now, anyway."

"I WILL PROCEED WITH REHEATING THE MEALS. I EXPECT YOU INSIDE IN FIFTEEN MINUTES, BROTHER. GOOD NIGHT, HUMAN."

The next day was one of Black's days off. His usual glorious peace was interrupted by the battering of hammers against wood. Groggily, he sat up and looked at the clock. On occasion, he allowed himself to sleep in on the weekends until eight, but through bleary eyelights, he noticed the time was actually just past seven. 

He raised an eyebrow and blinked at the clock before checking his phone. Both times matched. Did his brother actually beat him waking up?

Blackberry threw back the covers and pulled on a bathrobe, stopping long enough to fix his bedding before heading downstairs to investigate.

Once he got to the kitchen, he looked out onto the patio. Sure enough, high up in the construction of the treehouse was his brother, fully dressed and (even more surprisingly) fully _awake_. Judging from the amount of lumber missing from the ever-diminishing pile on the ground and the industrial lights still turned on, Rus had been awake for quite a while. His human friend kept yawning and looked barely able to keep their eyes open.

Black's frown returned. If he found out that his brother snuck out in the middle of the night to work on that thing, he was going to be upset. He looked down at the bone dry sink before walking over to the fridge. Once again, not a single dish had been disturbed. Black did see that the dregs of a pot of cold coffee still sat on the little woven mat by the percolator, but that was the only sign of anything his brother had taken with him. He dumped the contents and put a fresh pot on before heading upstairs to get dressed.

No use in making a scene in his bathrobe, of all things.

Twenty minutes later after the first drops of coffee hit his SOUL, Black was in a less grumbly and more logical mood. He marched across the yard and yelled up to his brother.

"PAPYRUS!"

Rus had just enough time to turn around before a lunchbox nearly beaned him in the face. He snagged it flawlessly - a habit from years of practice - and looked at it, puzzled.

"YOUR BREAKFAST IS IN THERE, AS WELL AS TWO WATER BOTTLES AND A SNACK," he shouted. "I EXPECT YOU TO COME INSIDE FOR LUNCH. DON'T FORGET THAT TODAY IS YOUR DAY TO DO LAUNDRY, EITHER! YOU DIDN'T SHAKE OUT YOUR CLOTHES LAST NIGHT, SO YOU WILL ALSO BE CLEANING UP ANY SAWDUST YOU HAVE TRACKED INTO OUR HOUSE! ARE WE CLEAR?"

"gotcha."

Black scowled, showing he didn't quite believe him, then looked over to the human while pointing to his brother. "SEE TO IT THAT NUMBSKULL EATS HIS FOOD. YOU'RE IN CHARGE OF HIM FOR NOW."

With that, Black left a slightly bewildered human (who, if he heard right, started snickering and may have mentioned the word "Mom") and a happy Rus chattering away.

When lunchtime came, Black realized he had left one of his textbooks at work. After setting Rus' place, he called to his brother in the backyard to tell him food was ready and that he would be back shortly. Well, upon getting to work, he discovered one of the interns was close to a meltdown upon being unable to find a misplaced folder, so he stopped to help. It took nearly an hour before one of the lawyers returned and apologized, having accidentally picked it up with their other work that they had taken with them on a business lunch. Crisis averted, Black accepted their thanks, grabbed his book, and headed home.

Only to be greeted with Rus' very cold lunch, just as he left it, sitting on the table where he had left it.

He threw open the patio door with a grunt. "PAPYRUS! GET IN HERE AND EAT YOUR LUNCH!"

Upon realizing all of the construction noises had stopped, Black went to investigate. Everyone was gone. He dug out his phone and texted his brother only to discover the duo had gone window shopping - for actual windows, not just walking around aimlessly through a shopping district. Blackberry reminded him that he had left his lunch, to which Rus apologized and said he'd pick up something on the way home. Black told him to make sure it was something healthy and to be sure to return for supper. He then turned around to see what he could salvage from the forgotten meal.

By the time supper rolled around, Black called to Rus to let him know he was cooking, and Rus acknowledged him. With the lumber pile gone, the windows placed into the treehouse, and fans the human had dragged up to help the paint on the interior of the house dry faster, they surely couldn't have much left, right?

Again, once supper was completed, Black called to Rus and the human, and then went back inside. He didn't dole out the food as he had a feeling his brother's squirrel-length attention span was going to, yet again, neatly deposit Blackberry's words into his mental wastebasket. Black saw no reason in waiting around and decided to get a bit of housework done in the meantime.

Once he had finished vacuuming and dusting most of the house (which took a bit longer on Rus' room due to the accumulation of enough wood shavings to be a hamster's paradise), he hauled the rest of Rus' unclean laundry downstairs to the utility room, only to discover the hamper hadn't been touched, nor had the floor been swept.

One look at the clock told him that another thirty minutes had passed, and Rus was fully intending to skip yet another meal.

Black dropped the laundry into the floor, spun on his heel, and stomped into the kitchen.

Rus lay sprawled on his back on the floor of the finished treehouse, his human friend doing roughly the same as they looked up through the skylight. Putting a skylight in a treehouse might have been going overboard and was likely to need a lot of cleaning from the birds and squirrels that inhabited the tree, but for now? Rus was thoroughly pleased with himself. The pale dying light of the sky allowed a handful of stars to twinkle amidst the pink-orange-blue of dust.

"so whaddya think? stargazing from a tree a good idea?"

The human made a happy noise. "I don't even have to cram into the tree itself and get all kinked up."

Rus chuckled.

"This has really been a blast, you know? Thanks for doing this with me."

"hey, i should be thanking you," Rus told them, "now, i've got another place to take naps in style!"

"Think this will get your brother off your back for a little while?" the human asked. "I know you said he was really pushing you to do something."

"that was as much my therapist's idea as-"

"PAPYRUS GASTER SERIF!"

Oh.

Oh, _fuck_!

Muttering explictives under his breath, Rus scrabbled around. His friend, sensing his distress, turned around in time to see Rus do the only thing he could think of in his panic: grabbing the rope ladder they had installed that day and yanking it up. It was done out of pure instinct but Rus knew it wasn't going to help anything. He stared at the ladder in his hand for a minute before tossing it to the side.

"he's gonna kill me!" Rus whispered.

"Oh crap, you're late for supper, aren't you?" they realized.

"i didn't do the laundry, either! he's gonna have my head on a pike!"

Rus popped his head out onto the few feet of space they had left as a landing between the treehouse and the edge of the platform. He looked down over the half-wall railing to see his very angry brother staring up at him.

"um, h-hello, brother, what brings you here?"

Black glared up at him, his arms crossed and his eyelights slowly starting to gleam with magic. He spoke calmly, but Rus knew that was merely the calm before the storm.

"BROTHER," Blackberry called up to him, "I AM A REASONABLE MONSTER. I EXPECT YOU TO DO YOUR SHARE OF THE HOUSEWORK AND TO BEHAVE LIKE AN ADULT. I HAVE BEEN VERY PATIENT WITH YOU BECAUSE, TRULY, THIS IS THE FIRST CHANCE YOU HAVE REALLY GOTTEN TO SIT DOWN AND JUST PLOT YOUR OWN COURSE IN LIFE. ALL THAT I ASKED IS THAT YOU WORKED ON SOME SEMBLENCE OF ROUTINE AS YOU FIGURED THINGS OUT."

Blackberry continued as the human walked out onto the landing. 

"WHEN YOU BEGAN TO SOCIALIZE AND FOUND A PROJECT WITH WHICH TO PREOCCUPY YOURSELF, I WAS VERY GLAD. HAPPY, EVEN, AS IT TAKES AN ACT OF THE QUEEN HERSELF TO GET YOU TO DO ANY HARD WORK OF YOUR OWN ACCORD, LET ALONE _ENJOY_ IT."

"BUT YOU HAVE NOT BEEN DOING YOUR CHORES. YOU'VE BEEN SKIPPING MEALS. AND, IF MY CALCULATIONS ARE CORRECT, YOU SNUCK OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT TO WORK ON THIS THING."

"Hey, he's been productive!" the human called down. Rus's panicked face turned on them and he scooted them behind himself, telling them to cool it so as not to make things worse, but it was too late. Black turned his scowl on them and pointed a warning finger at them.

"YOU ARE NOT OFF THE HOOK, EITHER," Black told them. He looked about for a moment. "BROTHER, DROP THE LADDER AND COME DOWN."

Rus swallowed heavily. He knew he was going to get a lecture about not listening to his therapist and forgoing his self-care, but he really didn't want to hear any more.

However, his human friend had no knowledge of Rus seeing a therapist or that Black was actually trying to help him more than just being the "bossy mom friend". And therefore, had no qualms about being a bit cheeky.

So, feeling bold and wanting to stick up for their friend to what they thought was just an overbearing big brother, the human called out, "He'll come down if you tell us the password!"

Rus' eyelights went out in shock.

"THE...PASSWORD?" Black said slowly. 

Rus rounded on his friend and whispered, "stars, what have you done? don't antagonize- uh oh."

The dark chuckling that erupted from the ground below was the most ominous thing Rus had heard in ages. Black had been issued a challenge - and Blackberry wasn't one to lose challenges.

"OH, I KNOW THE PASSWORD, ALRIGHT..."

His eyelights blazed with magic and Rus had only a moment to grab his friend and fall into the house before Black sprang the nearly twelve feet into the air, landing with perfect catlike grace on the spot on the landing where they had just been. As he raised up slowly, he turned his head and gazed down at them menacingly.

Rus clung tightly to his friend and gulped. "b-buddy, it was nice knowing you!"

They clapped his hand and shook it before staring in as much terror at Black as Rus was. Black took a few steps toward them.

"THE PASSWORD IS..."

Suddenly, Rus realized that his brother had been wearing his university backpack. He slipped the thing off himself with a shrug of his shoulders, sitting it down in front of the perplexed duo before dropping to his knees and unzipping it. Black then pulled out two rectangular containers from within it and held them off.

"...SUPPER."

A whole beat of silence passed before Rus and the human shakily took the boxes from Black.

"Um...thank you?"

Black nodded to the human before pulling out a couple bottles of water and sitting one down in front of both them and Rus before pulling out his own container and bottle. Rus and the human peeled themselves out of their terrified embrace before the human shot Rus a bewildered look. Black prattled of a list of foods before asking the human if they were allergic to any of them. When they shook their head, he simply said, "GOOD."

When Rus and the human popped their dishes open, steam curled out, twinkling with magic over a bed of sauce-drenched vegetable noodles. The human's eyes widened as Black passed the two of them silverware. 

"IF YOU ARE ANYTHING LIKE MY BROTHER," Black said, "THEN YOU ARE LIKELY AS PRONE AS HE IS TO FORGETTING TO EAT WHEN YOU GET WRAPPED UP IN THINGS. IF NEITHER OF YOU ARE GOING TO COME IN THE HOUSE TO EAT, THEN WE SHALL DINE OUT HERE."

He looked over the building, analyzing its structural integrity.

"SEEMS LIKE SOLID, STURDY CRAFTSMANSHIP. BUT WHY IS THERE A WINDOW ON THE ROOF?"

Rus smiled. "it's a skylight! c'mere," he said, scooting back. His brother maneuvered himself farther into the treehouse. "take a look!"

Black looked up and lowered his dish to his lap, staring up in wide-eyed awe.

"see, bro?" Rus said, scooting closer to him. "i told my buddy here about how i liked to stargaze out here sometimes, and they thought it would be cool to do the same if they had a way to do it more comfortably. that's where the treehouse came in."

"I SEE," Blackberry said, unable to tear his gaze from the stars above as more began to peek through the quickly darkening sky.

"Yeah!" the human joined in. "We're gonna put some cushions in here and use it as our own private clubhouse!" They took a bite of their food and moaned. "Oh my goodness, this is so good! Did you make this?"

Black finally tore his gaze away from the ceiling and looked at them. "YES, I DID. I'M PLEASED THAT YOU LIKE IT."

They took another bite and hummed with appreciation, falling over dramatically to lean against Rus' shoulder before looking up at him with star-struck eyes. "You are never skipping a meal at your house again, and neither am I."

Rus snorted and Black laughed. "WELL, I AM VERY PLEASED TO HEAR THAT!" black caught his brother's eye. "IT SEEMS THERE IS STILL SOME HOPE FOR YOU IF YOU CONTINUE TO HANG AROUND THIS ONE. MAYBE THEY WILL RUB OFF ON YOU."

Rus picked a morsel of carrot out of his food and flicked it at his brother, sticking a conjured tongue out at him. Black dodged the projectile effortlessly, shooting his brother a look. "YOU SEE THAT?" he told the human. "HE'S BEING A BAD INFLUENCE. DON'T BE DOING THAT."

They looked down at their food before up at the sharklike grin Rus was giving them. The human instantly moved their container out of his way.

"Nuh-uh! If I do that, he might not cook for me anymore! I'm not risking it!"

Black smirked as he ate his noodles. Rus rolled his eyes and groaned dramatically.

"not in their presence for more than five minutes and they've already gone over to your side. after all we've been through together! building a tree house, dodging blue jays-"

"Hey!" the human waved a fork at him. "You were the one who pestered it, not me!"

With that, the three fell into easy conversation while they finished their meals, then Rus invited his brother to join them. Black stretched out on the floor beside his brother and brother's new friend, looking up at the sky as the human pointed out constellations. It was well into the night before any of them realized time had gotten away from them and by that point, Black couldn't really find it in himself to leave, and started to realize just why Rus kept getting distracted.

You see, the trouble with treehouses is that once you build one, you seldom want to leave it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Frick yeah, title drop XD  
> Knew I could work it in there somewhere. Kinda sounds like the title for an episode of Winnie-the-Pooh, doesn't it? XD
> 
> Also, this had initially been planned to be a romantic Rus/Reader fic when I was given the idea ages ago, and it somehow turned into a Reader/Blackberry's Cooking fic. 
> 
> TUMBLR: https://readwithdetermination.tumblr.com/  
> YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaQd1Pjqd6plN9Z8EjmvVvg


End file.
